Contact lens container



July 12, 1960 G. GOLDSTEIN 2,944,661

CONTACT LENS CONTAINER Filed NOV. 18, 1958 INVENTOR. GILBERT GOLDSTEINBy QJILHZ m ATTORNEY.

- I were;

GilbertGoldStein, 7881Roose'velt Baa, Philadelphia, 1%.

" if "Filled-Nov; 1a, 195s, jsei-IN 274,462

- 1 Claims. (chaos-'5 The present invention relates to a contact lenscontainer,- and more particularly to a contact lens container whichprovides for proper storageand cleaning of contact lenses. l

. Contact lenses, when notin use, .must be maintained wet. Forthispurpose, it has been the practice toplace the contact lenses, saucer ofwater'.. However, such containers are subject to: being easily spilledwhich may cause the contact lenses when not in use, in a glass, jar, orV to be new; damaged, such as byb'reaking the lenses or by scratchingthem. Furthermore, when the user desires to remove the lenses from thecontainer, he must dip his fingers intoth e water and search around forthe lenses. This is a messy and awkward process when the container.

' is a household glass, jar, or saucer. l

, Each lens of ;a pair 'of contact emails particularly .shaped foriaparticular eye... ,To helpjdis tinguish the 1 lenses, one of theglenssis usually provided'with a small colored mark of indicia. Howeverfwhe'ntheuser're- 1 moves a ,lens from the liquid, he still m ust carefullyscrutinize the pas a be sure whether it'is the right or left 1 lens.

.-3- FO1 "p1'0P6l' CQIQOf the cgntact lenses, the lenses must becleaned-regularly, Heretoform, the cleaning ;of; the

.lenses was; done either by hand onby the use'of clumsy 1utensils.Because of the small sizeand fragile nature of ;contact lenses, greatcaremustbe taken when cleaning "them. by hand to prevent them from beingbroken,

a jp roppcdandl st- It is an object of the present invention to providea small-compact container for safely storing contact lenses anotherobject of the present invention to provide It a container for storingcontact lenses in a liquid which provides for the removal of the lensesfrom the liquid quickly, easily, and without wetting the fingers.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide acontainer for contact lenses which separates the lenses and clearlyindicates which lens is the right lens and which is the left lens.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro- Figure 2. is alongitudinal sectional view of the container of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the contact the present invention, generallydesignated as 10, comprises a receptacle 12, a cover-1'4, and anagitator-lens holder 16.

Receptacle 12 is made of a transparent plastic matelens container of lPatented July 12, 1 96! nt, and comprises a bottom18 and an upstandingwall- 20. Bottom 18 of receptacle 12 has a central raised por-,

tion 22, the purpose of which will be explained later. Wall 20 has anannular lip 24 projecting from its outer surface at the uppermost edgeof the wall 20. A broken line 26 is printed on wall 20 to indicate howfar the receptacle 12 should be filled with water. Although receptacle12 is shown to be circular in transverse crosssection, it may also besquare, hexagonal, or any other desired shape. p Agitator-lens holder 16is made of an opaque plastic material and comprises a relatively flatlens holder plate 28 and an agitator arm 30' integral with or secured toplate 28 and extending upwardly from plate 28. Agitator arm 30 extendsdiametrically across lens holder plate 28 and is of a widthsubstantially equal to the diameter of plate 28, and of a heightslightly shorter than the height of receptacle 12. shape and size as theinside of receptacle 12 and has a plurality of holes 32 therethrough, atleast one hole 32 being on each side of the agitator arm 30. A coloredindicia mark 34 is printed on the upper surface of lens holder-plate 28on one side of agitator arm 30.

Cover 14 is also made of plastic and comprises a top 36 having adownwardly extending annular rim 38 around its periphery. Rim 38 has anannular groove 40 in its inner surface of a size to receive the lip 24on the vwall 20 of receptacle 12. Rim 38 also has a projection 42 on itsouter surface to facilitate removal of the cover 14 from the receptacle12'. I I f To use the container 10 of the present invention, agita- ,torlens holder 16 is inserted in receptacle 12 .with' the agitator arm' 30extending upwardly, and the. receptacle is filled up to, line 26 withwateror a cleaning solution. Agitator-lens holder 16 is then raised byvgrasping the top pf agitator arm- '30 'and'lifting upwardly until thelens holder,plate'28 is near the top of receptacle 12; "The a contactlenses 44 and 46, shown in phantom; are placed on the top surface oflensholder plate 28','one' lens on each side of agitator arm 30. The contactlens having the indicia mark thereon is placed on the portion of lens Vholder plate 28 having the indicia mark 34 thereon.

Agitatorelens holder 16 isth'enlowered into receptacle {12,by pressingdown on agitator arm 30 until the lens holder plate 28 rests on theraised portion 22 of bottom ,18. Holes 32 in lens holder plate 28 permitthe liquid in "container 12 to pass therethrough so as to permit ease ofmovement of the lens holder plate 28 through the liquid. The raisedportion 22 of bottom 18 holds the lens holder plate 28 away from bottom18 to insure that the lenses 4 4 and 46 are entirely surrounded by theliquid. In addition, the raised portion 22 prevents a suction fromoccurring under the lens holder plate 28 when it is lifted away frombottom 18 so that the agitator-lens holder 16 can be raised easily.Cover 14 is then placed'over the upper end of receptacle 12 and securedthereto by the lip 24 fitting in the'groove 40.- I t i To remove thelenses from the container 10, the cover 14 is removed from thereceptacle 12 by lifting up on the projection 42 on the rim 38 of thecover 14. The agitator-lens holder 16 is then raised by lifting up onagitator arm 30 until the lens holder plate 28 is near the top ofreceptacle 12. The lenses 44 and 46 can then be removed from the lensholder plate 28 without the user getting his fingers wet from the liquidin the receptacle 12. Since the lens whichhas the indicia mark thereonis on the portion of lens holder plate 28 having the indicia mark 34thereon, there is a clear indication'to the user; as to which lens isthe right lens and which is the left lens.

Thus, there is provided a small-compact container for safely storingcontact lenses in a fluid, and which permits the lenses to beeasily-inserted and removedwith- Lens holder plate 28 is of the same A 7ename fits tightly onthe receptacle 12 if the container is accidentallytipped over, the contact lenses will not be lost or damaged By aving apa at e mp tmen m eh eontaet lens, the lenses cannot hit against eachother and th -by become damaged, and the lenses are easily identifiableTo clean the contact le ses, the cover 14 is removed frorn thereceptacle 12 and the lens holder plate 28 is moved up and down throughthe solution in the receptacle 12 by lifting up and pushing down on theagitator arm 3t). This oves the contact lenses 44 and 46 through thesolution in the receptacle 12 and agitates the solution around thecontact lenses .44 and 46 to properly elean the lenses. Thus, thecontact lenses may be quickly and easily cleaned each time they are usedwithout the necessity of handling the lenses The present invention maybe embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit oressential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be madeto the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification asindicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A container for contact lenses comprising a receptacle having asubstantially flat bottom with a raised central portion and anupstanding wall, an agitator-holder slideably fitting in saidreceptacle, said agitator-holder comprising a flat plate extendingsubstantially parallel to the bottom of said receptacle and normallyresting on Said raised central portion, said plate including meansproviding for passage of liquids from above said plate to below saidplate, an arm secured to the upper surface of said plate and extendingupwardly therefrom, and a cover fitting tightly across the top of theWall of said receptacle and removable therefrom, said arm extendingacross the plate for substantially the full Width of the plate anddividing the upper surface of said plate into two .plate, has a coloredindicia mark on its upper surface to one side of said arm.

parts, and said arm being of a length slightly shorter than H the heightof the Wall of the receptacle.

3. A container in accordance with claim 2 in which said means includes aplurality of holes in said plate with plastic material slideably fittingin said receptacle, said agitator-holder comprising a fiatplate'extending substantially parallel to the bottom of said receptacle,and an arm secured to the upper surface of said plate and extendingupwardly therefrom, said arm extending across said plate forsubstantially the full Width of said plate and dividing the uppersurface of said plate into two parts, a plastic cover removably fittingtightly across the top of the wall of said receptacle, the bottom ofsaid Container having a central raised portion on which said platenormally rests, and said plate including means. providinglfor'passage ofliquids from above said plate to below said plate.

5. A container comprising a receptacle having a substantially flatbottom and an upstanding wall, an agitatorholder slideably fitting insaid receptacle, said agitatorholder comprising a plate extendingsubstantially parallel to the bottom of said receptacle and an armsecured to the upper surface of said plate and extending upwardlytherefrom, said arm extending across said plate for substantially thefull Width of the plate and dividing the upper surface of said plateinto two parts, a liquid partially filling said receptacle, a pair ofcontact lenses in said receptacle and seated on the upper surface ofsaid agitatorholder plate, with one lens being on one side of said armand the other lens being on the other side of said arm, the wall of saidcontainer being of a height considerably greater than the largestdimension of said contact lenses, and a cover removably fitting acrossthe top of the wall of said receptacle.

6. A container in accordance with claim 5 in which the plate has acolored indicia mark on its upper surface to one side of said arm, andthe lens on said one side of the rm h s an n eie ma th r 7. A containerin accordance with claim 6 in which the plate has a plurality ofholestherethrough, with at least one hole being on each side of the arm.

Re erenc s Cited n. h le of thi Pa UNITED STATES PATENTS

